Latest posts by Silvia Viñas from August, 2011
International Blog Day in Latin America
Several bloggers in Latin America are sharing their thoughts on blogging during this year's Blog Day, like Juan Edgardo Lezcano [es] from Paraguay and Julio Córdoba [es] from Costa Rica. Furthermore, UNIMERCentroamerica posted a video interview [es] with Costa Rican blogger Cristian Cambronero from Fusil de Chispas [es].
Costa Rica: Bloggers on Anti-Tobacco Law
Blogger ‘El Chamuko’ from El infierno en Costa Rica [es] and María Luisa Ávila [es] comment on the anti-tobacco law that is up for debate in Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly. ‘El Chamuko’ discusses cigarette smuggling, while María Luisa argues that “the smoking ban can not be permissive”.
Chile: Mapuche Youth Takeover Municipal Building
Katie Manning from Mi Voz reports that forty Mapuche teenagers have staged a takeover –toma in Spanish– in Ercilla: “Since August 19, the 11-to-17-year-olds occupied the town’s government center. They’re not giving it back, they said, until Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter hears out their grievances over the “constant police presence”...
Latin America: Remembering the Missing on the International Day of the Disappeared
August 30 is the International Day of the Disappeared; The Latin Americanist blogs about current cases of disappearances in Mexico and Argentina.
Ecuador: Journalist Sentenced to Prison for Defamation Flees Country
The Knight Center's Journalism in the Americas Blog reports that Emilio Palacio, a journalist from newspaper El Universo “sued for criticizing President Rafael Correa, arrived in the United States Wednesday, Aug. 24″. The post adds: “Meanwhile, the newspaper El Universo published a letter directed at President Correa asking him to stop the legal...
Bolivia: Aymara Women Working as ‘Voceadoras’ in El Alto
Alberto Medrano shares two videos of Aymara women in El Alto working in minibuses as voceadoras: women who announce the vehicle's route and collect the passengers’ money. Cristina Quisbert blogged about these women in 2008 in Bolivia Indígena [es].
Argentina: People in Buenos Aires March in Support of Teen Killed in Chile Protest
Sixteen-year-old Manuel Gutierrez was shot on Thursday, August 25, during clashes between protesters and police in the second and final day of a national strike in Chile. He died the next day. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Chileans and supporters marched to the Chilean consulate to protest the teen's death. Colectivovisualantof...
Mexico: Searching for Victims of Casino Attack via Twitter
Global Voices author Issa Villarreal put together a Storify post showing how family and friends of the victims of the Casino Royale attack in Monterrey are using Twitter to search for information about their loved ones.
Paraguay: Images of a Weekend in Iturbe
Cazador de Instantes posts a photo essay of a weekend in Iturbe, Paraguay.
Colombia: #ColombiaisBeautiful vs. Hollywood
Lina Salazar in the Americas Quarterly blog comments on the movie Colombiana “(yet another) movie in which Colombia is portrayed as a land of cocaine, crime and armed insurrection”. She mentions several initiatives that are looking to change this negative image of Colombia, like #ColombiaisBeautiful, “a grassroots social media campaign...
Mexico: 61 Die in Attack on Casino in Monterrey
On Thursday, August 25, gunmen set the Casino Royale in Monterrey on fire. Gancho reports on the latest death toll and briefly explains what was behind this attack: “Sixty-one people were killed in a casino in Monterrey yesterday, after the owners refused to make extortion payments to the Zetas.” On...
Colombia: ‘Blank Vote, Worthy Vote’
Colombians are invited to cast blank ballots in the regional and local elections to be held on October 30, 2011 through the video “Blank vote, worthy vote” by NachoVelezJim on YouTube. The argument for such a move is that scandals of government corruption have made the country lose billions of...
Uruguay Celebrates Independence Day
Today, August 25, Uruguay is celebrating 186 years of its declaration of independence. Federico Lorenzo shares [es] today's Google doodle on the search engine's Uruguayan version, and comments on the history behind the country's independence.
Peru: Ripley Department Store Workers Maintain Demands
Ripley Peru union workers have announced that they will not give up their demands [es] for an increase in the basic monthly salary to 350 nuevos soles [es] (around US $130). They also ask for a payment of 50% of their snack and 100% of their transportation for workers who...
Peru: 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Jungle Region
Juan Arellano –Global Voices author and Spanish Translation Manager– is updating a Storify post [es] with Twitter reactions to a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the Peruvian jungle near the border with Brazil. The earthquake was felt in most of Peru and in parts of Ecuador and Brazil.
Chile: Citizen Reports about National Strike on Google Maps
Mi Voz has set up a map on Google Maps [es] with citizen reports about the national strike taking place on August 24 and 25 throughout Chile.
Chile: Explaining the ‘Chilean Revolution’
Setty, a journalist living in Chile, explains ‘the Chilean revolution': “Chile is supposed to be the stodgy, conservative, institutionality-respecting corner of South America, where nothing ever happens. But this is changing as the public runs out of patience after centuries of being told that if they wait and work hard,...
Peru: Congress Passes Law Requiring Prior Consultation With Indigenous Peoples
The Peruvian Congress unanimously approved the ‘Prior Consultation Law‘ for indigenous or native peoples (“Ley de Consulta Previa a los Pueblos Indígenas u Originarios“[es] in Spanish), which establishes the mandatory or biding character of the consultations with indigenous peoples [es]. It is expected that President Ollanta Humala will soon sign...
Chile: Artists Protest at UNESCO Headquarters in Support of Students on Huger Strike
Artists protested peacefully outside the UNESCO headquarters in Santiago in support of students on hunger strike. El Mostrador reports [es] that 4 musicians entered the building to deliver a letter in favor of the students. Jose Miranda (@JPMirandaM) live streamed the protest via Twitcam. The ‘toma’ ended at 2:00pm local...
Honduras: A Call to Protect the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve
Oscar Alberto at MelWars condemns [es] the deforestation and illegal logging taking place in the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, a rainforest recently added to the UNESCO's World Heritage ‘danger list‘.
Chile: New Partnership Between Global Voices and Mi Voz
Global Voices and Mi Voz - a Chilean network of online citizen newspapers - recently launched a content partnership. With this partnership Global Voices will enhance its coverage of Chilean news from a hyperlocal citizen perspective focused on news outside the capital, Santiago.
